Stars above, what's happened to Deve Gowda!?

Something strange has happened to former prime minister H D
Deve Gowda -- he is acting outright out of character.

Yes, really. Guess what he did last Friday? He went and filed his
nomination papers during rahu kaal!

Which act, folks, is
downright surprising for a man of Deve
Gowda's, er, astrological status.
What on earth has
happened to the simple-humble ex-PM's belief in the stars?

Naturally, officials at the Hissar district commissioner's office
were pretty surprised when the farmer, with a dozen or so other
farmers, walked in
a little after 1100 hours. On Fridays, all of them
knew, rahu kaal started at 1030 hours and ended
one-and-a-half hours later. What was Deve Gowda
doing here at this unauspicious time? Not come
to file his nomination, surely?

Ignoring the questioning glances, Deve Gowda
ploughed ahead. A little after 1100 hours he had everything
pat before the commissioner who, at 1115 hours sharp, proclaimed him
man and candidate.

Asked about his newfound love for
rahu kaal, Deve Gowda
played unsuperstitious. It was the media, he said solemnly, that wrote
him off as 'starry' -- actually, he wasn't.
Wasn't this proof enough?

Unfortunately, none of the journalists thought so. After all, they
themselves had reported about Deve Gowda's carting off
his personal astrologer to Delhi, about
his consultations before making appointments, and a lot, lot more
of such starry stuff!